Idle time control system

ABSTRACT

An idle time control system for controlling an engine idle time by controlling an engine cooling water temperature may include a temperature detection device detecting the engine cooling water temperature, a front grill, an opening angle thereof being changeable, an opening angle changing device engaged to the front grill, and a control device controlling the opening angle changing device according to information from the temperature detection device, wherein the opening angle changing device changes the opening angle of the front grill based on a command from the control device, wherein by changing the opening angle of the front grill for cooling a radiator of a vehicle, the engine cooling water temperature may be changed and the engine idle time may be controlled.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-31958 filed on Feb. 16, 2012, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an idle time control system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an idle time control system for controlling an idle time by changing an air flow (or volume) which contacts a radiator based on a water temperature of an engine.

2. Description of Related Art

As a solution to global warming, idle control for a vehicle engine is an inexpensive way to be applicable to most vehicles.

The idle control prevents CO₂ emission by stopping idle driving when a vehicle stops, but for engine protection, immediately after engine startup or at low temperature of cooling water of the engine, idle driving cannot be stopped.

The idle driving cannot be stopped in case of low-temperature engine cooling water or gearbox oil, a gear of R, S, or L, a sharp ascending slope, dehumidification as air conditioning, immediately after engine startup, and sudden stop.

In the wintertime, it is highly probable that the engine cooling water or the gearbox oil is maintained at low temperatures, resulting in a long-time idle state.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing an idle time control system for controlling an idle time by changing an air flow (or volume) which contacts a radiator based on a water temperature of an engine to lengthen an idle stop time.

In an aspect of the present invention, an idle time control system for controlling an engine idle time by controlling an engine cooling water temperature may include a temperature detection device detecting the engine cooling water temperature, a front grill, an opening angle thereof being changeable, an opening angle changing device engaged to the front grill, and a control device controlling the opening angle changing device according to information from the temperature detection device, wherein the opening angle changing device changes the opening angle of the front grill based on a command from the control device, wherein by changing the opening angle of the front grill for cooling a radiator of a vehicle, the engine cooling water temperature is changed and the engine idle time is controlled.

The temperature detection device is based on a bimetal.

The control device is set to output a command for closing the front grill when the engine cooling water temperature detected by the temperature detection device is lower than a preset reference temperature.

The control device is set to close the front grill more than a predetermined angle as the engine cooling water temperature detected by the temperature detection device is lower than a preset reference temperature, and to close the front grill less than the predetermined angle as the engine cooling water temperature detected by the temperature detection device is higher than the preset reference temperature.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an entire diagram of an idle time control system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which an angle of an opening portion of a front grill is changed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which the opening portion is completely opened.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which an angle of an opening portion of a front grill is changed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which the opening portion is completely closed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a change in an engine cooling water temperature when a front grill is opened at all times.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a change in an engine cooling water temperature when a front grill is configured to be opened or closed according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The above and other features of the invention are discussed infra.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, an idle time control system according to the present invention may include a temperature detection device 1 for detecting an engine cooling water temperature, a front grill 2 whose opening angle is changeable, a control device 3 for controlling the opening angle of the front grill 2 based on information from the temperature detection device 1, and an opening angle changing device 4 for changing the opening angle of the front grill 2 based on a command from the control device 3.

The idle time control system according to the present invention changes an engine cooling water temperature and controls an idle time of an engine by changing an opening angle of the front grill 2, which is an air inlet grill for cooling a radiator of a vehicle.

The temperature detection device 1 is based on a bimetal.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which an angle of an opening portion of the front grill 2 is changed according to the present invention, in which the opening portion is completely opened, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the angle of the opening portion of the front grill 2 is changed according to the present invention, in which the opening portion is completely closed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the common front grill 2 has large opened intervals for air inlet.

The engine cooling water temperature is measured by the idle time control system according to the present invention, and when the engine cooling water temperature is lower than a predetermined amount, a radiator is closed and stopped.

Opening or closing the opening portion of the front grill 2 may be performed by an actuator connected to the opening portion of the front grill 2. The actuator may be a motor, gear mechanism, hydraulic system, or linkage.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a change in the engine cooling water temperature when the front grill 2 is opened at all times, in which a horizontal axis indicates an elapse time from engine startup to initiation of idle stop and a vertical axis indicates the engine cooling water temperature.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the intervals of the front grill 2 are opened large, in case of the high engine cooling water temperature like in the summertime, an elapse time until initiation of idle stop is short and within a short time from engine startup, the engine enters the idle stop state.

However, in the wintertime, the low engine cooling water temperature is difficult to rapidly increase to an idle stop initiation temperature, such that an elapse time until idle stop initiation is long.

An ambient temperature in the wintertime is lower than that in the summertime, such that as can be seen in FIG. 4, the engine cooling water temperature immediately after engine startup in the wintertime may be lower than that in the summertime.

As a result, it is taken a long time for the engine cooling water temperature to reach the idle stop initiation temperature, increasing the elapse time until idle stop initiation. Therefore, when the engine cooling water temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature like in the wintertime, it is necessary to rapidly increase the engine cooling water temperature by closing the front grill 2.

When the front grill 2 is closed, the engine cooling water temperature can rapidly increase in comparison to when the front grill 2 is opened. When the engine cooling water temperature rapidly increases, it can rapidly reach the idle stop initiation temperature, thus reducing the elapse time until idle stop initiation.

Therefore, in the present invention, the control device 3 may be set to output a command for closing the front grill 2 when the engine cooling water temperature detected and input by the temperature detection device 1 is lower than a preset reference temperature like in the wintertime.

As such, the opening angle changing device 4 is driving-controlled by a command from the control device 3 to close the front grill 2, and when the front grill 2 is closed, the engine cooling water temperature rapidly increases, thus reducing an elapse time until idle stop initiation.

The control device 3 may be set to output a command for changing the front grill 2 from an opened state into a complete-closed state, but when the front grill 2 is opened, the control device 3 may be set to output a command for controlling an opening angle of the front grill 2 according to the engine cooling water temperature detected and input by the temperature detection device 1, instead of completely closing the front grill 2, at a temperature lower than the reference temperature.

For example, the control device 3 may be set to output a command for closing the front grill 2 more than a predetermined angle as the current engine cooling water temperature is lower than the reference temperature, when the front grill 2 is opened.

The command of the control device 3 is intended to close the front grill 2 less than the predetermined angle as the current engine cooling water temperature is higher than the reference temperature.

In this way, as the control device 3 outputs the command corresponding to the engine cooling water temperature, the opening angle changing device 4 is driving-controlled by the command of the control device 3 to set the opening angle of the front grill 2 to a level corresponding to the engine cooling water temperature.

Also in this case, in comparison to when the front grill 2 is opened at all times, the engine cooling water temperature can rapidly increase and thus the elapse time until idle stop initiation can be reduced.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a change in the engine cooling water temperature when the front grill 2 is configured to be opened or closed according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, if the front grill 2 is closed and stopped, the engine cooling water temperature rapidly increases even in the wintertime, thus reducing the elapse time until idle stop initiation to a large extent in comparison to a normal state where the front grill 2 is opened.

Moreover, it can also be seen that by controlling the opening angle of the front grill 2, the engine cooling water temperature can be controlled.

Even when the ambient temperature is low and the engine cooling water temperature does not increase after engine startup, the opening angle of the front grill 2 is controlled. In this case, the engine cooling water temperature can be controlled and the elapse time until idle stop initiation from engine startup can be reduced by a large extent, thus improving fuel-efficiency and reducing the amount of CO₂ emission based on lengthening of an idle driving stop time. Moreover, with a small change in the engine temperature, degradation of engine parts can be prevented, and furthermore, degradation of a battery or crankshaft-related parts can also be prevented owing to reduction of engine startup times.

According to the present invention, an idle driving stop time can be lengthened, thus improving fuel-efficiency and reducing the amount of CO2 emission. Moreover, with a small change in the engine temperature, degradation of engine parts can be prevented. In addition, by reduction of engine startup times, degradation of a battery or crankshaft-related parts can also be prevented.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An idle time control system for controlling an engine idle time by controlling an engine cooling water temperature, the idle time control system comprising: a temperature detection device detecting the engine cooling water temperature; a front grill, an opening angle thereof being changeable; an opening angle changing device engaged to the front grill; and a control device controlling the opening angle changing device according to information from the temperature detection device, wherein the opening angle changing device changes the opening angle of the front grill based on a command from the control device, wherein by changing the opening angle of the front grill for cooling a radiator of a vehicle, the engine cooling water temperature is changed and the engine idle time is controlled.
 2. The idle time control system of claim 1, wherein the temperature detection device is based on a bimetal.
 3. The idle time control system of claim 1, wherein the control device is set to output a command for closing the front grill when the engine cooling water temperature detected by the temperature detection device is lower than a preset reference temperature.
 4. The idle time control system of claim 1, wherein the control device is set to close the front grill more than a predetermined angle as the engine cooling water temperature detected by the temperature detection device is lower than a preset reference temperature, and to close the front grill less than the predetermined angle as the engine cooling water temperature detected by the temperature detection device is higher than the preset reference temperature. 